Revolutionary Power

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-- These three volumes of collective biography may fill some gaps, but their broad scopes and highly illustrative, double-paged topic treatments of 19 individuals each fall prey to oversimplification. People Who Care examines individuals from the 18th century to the present who have devoted themselves to such pursuits as working with the mentally ill or doing battle against such problems as famine, cancer, and AIDS. Louis Braille, Julia Ward Howe, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Clara Barton, Mother Teresa, and Albert Schweitzer are among the humanitarians featured. Revolutionary Power covers all continents and many time periods, from the first century to the present. Not all the revolutions were successful or desirable from our perspective, but their juxtaposition is interesting for beginning readers of world history. Pollard talks about changes in civilization that have affected and been affected by Thinkers . He includes the Greek philosophers, Dante, Rousseau, Mary Wollenstonecraft, Ch'iu Chin, George Orwell, Bertrand Russell, and Nelson Mandela in his discussion of a range of cultures and viewpoints. After reading these titles, students may be inspired to seek out more information on the individuals introduced. --Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston